If you are a man who has been diagnosed with diabetes, you are at risk for developing hypoglycemia if you do not keep your glucose levels in the ideal range. To maintain healthy blood glucose levels, you need to follow certain dietary guidelines and keep track of your blood glucose readings through a home blood monitoring test kit.
Carbohydrates
Amy Campbell, a nutritionist and author at the Joslin Diabetes Center, advises working with a dietitian to figure out how many grams of carbohydrate you can eat each day. Carbohydrates are in most foods and are the key factor that raises your blood glucose. Once you have a figure, you can plan your meals. Carbohydrates come in three forms: starches, fiber and sugar. High-starch foods include peas, corn, lima beans, potatoes, dried beans, lentils, oats, barley and rice. Sugar is in many processed foods, while fiber is in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes. If you do not require insulin, your goal is to keep the amount of carbohydrate you eat consistent throughout the day and, if you are on insulin, you need to decide what you are going to eat without exceeding your carbohydrate allotment and then adjust your insulin accordingly. The key to managing your glucose level is to monitor it regularly with a home test kit.
Healthy Foods
If you have diabetes, no foods are off limits, but you do need to limit some of them. Your dietitian will work with you to plan a meal schedule that includes a variety of foods and keeps your carbohydrate intake level steady as well as your blood glucose. The keys to a healthy diet for diabetes are to eat a variety fresh vegetables, some fruits, dried beans, fish, nonfat dairy, lean meats and whole grains. Eat at set times in the day to keep your glucose from spiking or dipping.
When Blood Sugar Drops
Hypoglycemia occurs if you take too much insulin, miss meals or do not eat enough food. Men with a blood glucose level below 70 mg/dL are considered hypoglycemic. If you are hypoglycemic, you should take dietary steps to take to avoid further complications. These include consuming at least 15 g of carbohydrates to help boost your blood glucose. Some examples you can use include three glucose tablets, 1/2 cup of fruit juice, 1/2 cup of non-diet soda, five to six pieces of hard candy, 1 tbsp. of sugar in water or 1 tbsp. of honey or syrup. If you choose one of these remedies, you should be able to boost your glucose into the normal range.
Considerations
Many people think there is a specific diabetes diet to follow. The truth is your diet is determined based on your sex, age, weight, level of physical activity and the type of diabetes you have. Hypoglycemia is the result of poor diabetes management and it results when you do not follow the plan created by your dietitian. Until you know how many carbohydrates you can eat per day, you are playing with your health, because in severe cases of hypoglycemia, you could faint, have a seizure or fall into a coma.
